Scott N. Wilson

Implicit and explicit training in the mitigation of cognitive bias through the use of a serious game

We examine the mitigation of two cognitive biases through a video game.We conducted an experiment (N=708) to compare the game to an instructional video.The game was compared to outcomes testing knowledge and mitigation of the biases.Explicit instruction improved familiarity and knowledge of the biases more than implicit.More exposure through repeated play enhanced learning. Heuristics can interfere with information processing and hinder decision-making when more systematic processes that might lead to better decisions are ignored. Based on the heuristic-systematic model (HSM) of information processing, a serious training game (called MACBETH) was designed to address and mitigate cognitive biases that interfere with the analysis of evidence and the generation of hypotheses. Two biases are the focus of this paper-fundamental attribution error and confirmation bias. The efficacy of the serious game on knowledge and mitigation of biases was examined using an experiment in which participants (N=703) either played the MACBETH game or watched an instructional video about the biases. Results demonstrate the game to be more effective than the video at mitigating cognitive biases when explicit training methods are combined with repetitive play. Moreover, explicit instruction within the game provided greater familiarity and knowledge of the biases relative to implicit instruction. Suggestions for game development for purposes of enhancing cognitive processing and bias mitigation based on the MACBETH game design are discussed.

MACBETH: Development of a Training Game for the Mitigation of Cognitive Bias

This paper describes the process of rapid iterative prototyping used by a research team developing a training video game for the Sirius program funded by the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA). Described are three stages of development, including a paper prototype, and builds for alpha and beta testing. Game development is documented, and the process of playtesting is reviewed with a focus on the challenges and lessons-learned. Advances made in the development of the game through the playtesting process are discussed along with implications of the rapid iterative prototyping approach.

Training Anchoring and Representativeness Bias Mitigation Through a Digital Game

Objective. Humans systematically make poor decisions because of cognitive biases. Can digital games train people to avoid cognitive biases? The goal of this study is to investigate the affordance of different educational media in training people about cognitive biases and to mitigate cognitive biases within their decision-making processes. Method. A between-subject experiment was conducted to compare a digital game, a traditional slideshow, and a combined condition in mitigating two types of cognitive biases: anchoring bias and representativeness bias. We measured both immediate effects and delayed effects after four weeks. Results. The digital game and slideshow conditions were effective in mitigating cognitive biases immediately after the training, but the effects decayed after four weeks. By providing the basic knowledge through the slideshow, then allowing learners to practice bias-mitigation techniques in the digital game, the combined condition was most effective at mitigating the cognitive biases both immediately and after four weeks.

Mitigating bias blind spot via a serious video game

We employed a serious video game to train participants on bias blind spot (BBS), capturing training effects on BBS mitigation and knowledge at three points in time. Experiment 1 (Nź=ź703) compared the effects of hybrid training (a combination of implicit and explicit training) to implicit training; Experiment 2 (Nź=ź620) tested the effects of just-in-time versus delayed feedback; and Experiment 3 (Nź=ź626) examined the effects of singleplayer versus multiplayer learning environments. We also tested differences in game duration (30 vs. 60źmin play) and repetition (single vs. repeated play). Overall, the video game decreased BBS linearly over time and increased BBS knowledge at posttest, but knowledge decayed at 8-week posttest. These and other results are discussed, along with the implications, limitations, and future research directions. We developed a serious videogame to train participants on bias blind spot (BBS).In three experiments, playing the game decreased BBS linearly over time.The game also consistently increased BBS knowledge at the first posttest.However, the effects on knowledge decayed at the 8-week posttest.We also found that repeated exposure to the game increased BBS knowledge.

Digital Game based Learning for Undergraduate Calculus Education: Immersion, Calculation, and Conceptual Understanding

This study has two goals: First, to investigate the effectiveness of using a digital game to teach undergraduate-level calculus in terms of improving task immersion, sense of control, calculation skills, and conceptual understanding. Second, to investigate how feedback and visual manipulation can facilitate conceptual understanding of calculus. 132 undergraduate students participated in a controlled lab experiment and were randomly assigned to either a game-playing condition, a practice quiz condition, or a no-treatment control condition. The authors collected survey data and behavioral-tracking data recorded by the server during gameplay. The results showed that students who played the digital game reported highest task immersion but not sense of control. Students in the game condition also performed significantly better in conceptual understanding compared to students who solved a practice quiz and the control group. Gameplay behavioral-tracking data was used to examine the effects of visual manipulation and feedback on conceptual understanding.

Mitigating Cognitive Bias through the Use of Serious Games: Effects of Feedback

A serious video game was created to teach players about cognitive bias and encourage mitigation of both confirmation bias and the fundamental attribution error. Multiplayer and single-player versions of the game were created to test the effect of different feedback sources on bias mitigation performance. A total of 626 participants were randomly assigned to play the single player/multiplayer game once or repeatedly. The results indicate the single player game was superior at reducing confirmation bias and that repeated plays and plays of longer duration were more effective at mitigating both biases than a control condition where participants watched a training video.

Serious Games: An Evaluation Framework and Case Study

Serious games show promise as an effective training method, but such games are complex and few guidelines exist for their effective evaluation. We draw on the design science literature to develop a serious game evaluation framework that emphasizes grounding evaluation in each of four key areas-theoretical, technical, empirical, and external. We further recommend that serious game developers assume an iterative, adaptive approach to grounding an evaluation effort in these four areas, emphasizing some areas more than others at different stages of the development cycle. We illustrate our framework using a case study of a large-scale serious game development project. The case study illustrates a holistic approach to serious game evaluation that is valuable to both researchers and practitioners.

The K20 Model for Systemic Educational Change and Sustainability: Addressing Social Justice In Rural Schools and Implications For Educators in All Contexts

Forty percent of U.S. school districts, serving nearly 10 million children, are located in rural settings (Johnson and Strange, 2007). Of the 250 poorest communities in the United States, 244 are rural (Malhoit, 2005). One-fifth of all rural children in the United States live in poverty, and minority children living in rural areas are even more likely to be poor, with 46 percent of rural African American children and 43 percent of rural Native American children falling into this category (USDA, 2004).

Reliable deception cues training in an interactive video game

Abstract Well-designed video games can teach people to decrease their reliance on heuristics and biases, especially in deception detection, where people might be resistant to training or unaware that training is needed. We created the serious game VERITAS in which users ask questions of pre-recorded actors and attempt to determine the veracity of the answers supplied. The efficacy of the game was tested in two different experiments with college student players. We hypothesized that reducing reactance and enhancing self-affirmation of players would mitigate the resistance to training about bias relevant to a deception detection context. We found that compared to a traditional lecture, VERITAS players were more engaged and motivated by the training and outperformed the traditional lecture in training participants about their knowledge of deception cues, and to identify truthful statements but not deceptive ones. The players of VERITAS also showed improvement from the first to the second scenario in the game. These results reveal that perhaps truth and deception detection are separate skills which require different types of training.

Mitigation of cognitive bias with a serious game: Two experiments testing feedback timing and source

Oneof thebenefitsofusingdigitalgames foreducation is thatgamescanprovide feedback for learnerstoassesstheirsituationandcorrecttheirmistakes.Weconductedtwostudiestoexaminethe effectivenessofdifferentfeedbackdesign(timing,duration,repeats,andfeedbacksource)inaserious gamedesignedtoteachlearnersaboutcognitivebiases.Wealsocomparedthedigitalgame-based learningconditiontoaprofessionaltrainingvideo.Overall,thedigitalgamewassignificantlymore effectivethanthevideocondition.Longerdurationsandrepeatsimprovetheeffectsonbias-mitigation. Surprisingly,therewasnosignificantdifferencebetweenjust-in-timefeedbackanddelayedfeedback, andcomputer-generatedfeedbackwasmoreeffectivethanfeedbackfromotherplayers.